Digital Author Identification
Encyclopedia
The Digital Author Identification system assigns a unique number to all authors in the Dutch research system. The DAI links the PICA
database in institutional libraries with the METIS
national research information system
.
The Digital Author Identification (DAI) is a unique national number for every author active within a Dutch university, university of applied sciences
, or research institute. The DAI is prepared for the ISO standard “ISNI” (International Standard Name Identifier). The DAI brings several publications from an author together, and distinguishes between authors with the same name.
, other identifiers are in use as well, such as ResearcherID
or ScopusId. The DAI however is the only independent, non-commercial, number for Dutch researchers.
SURFfoundation has, in cooperation with OCLC PICA, created a connection with PICA National Thesaurus Authornames (NTA) that is supplied and maintained by university libraries. Important to this is the connection between the research information system Metis and the repositories.
In July 2009, an article was published in the Dutch newspaper NRC titled “No names, numbers!”. This article was a reaction to a publication in The Lancet
in June about the Thompson ResearcherID. In this article, two Dutch researchers advocated an independent author ID, although they were unaware of the existence of the DAI.
Pica
Pica may refer to:*Pica , in typesetting and document layout*Pica , abnormal appetite for earth and other non-foods*Pica , a genus of magpie*Pica Press, a publishing imprint*Pica, Chile, city in the Tarapacá Region of Chile...
database in institutional libraries with the METIS
Metis
Metis meant "cunningness" or "wisdom, craft, skill" in Ancient Greek.Metis may also refer to:* Métis people , a mixed-race people of Canada* Metis , a Titaness and the first wife of Zeus...
national research information system
Current Research Information System
A Current Research Information System is a database or other information system storing data on current research by organizations and people, usually through some kind of project activity, financed by a funding programme....
.
The Digital Author Identification (DAI) is a unique national number for every author active within a Dutch university, university of applied sciences
Vocational university
A vocational university is an institution of higher education and sometimes research, which provides both tertiary and sometimes quaternary education and grants academic degrees at all levels in a variety of subjects...
, or research institute. The DAI is prepared for the ISO standard “ISNI” (International Standard Name Identifier). The DAI brings several publications from an author together, and distinguishes between authors with the same name.
Other author identifiers
The DAI is part of the national knowledge infrastructure. In the scientific communityScientific community
The scientific community consists of the total body of scientists, its relationships and interactions. It is normally divided into "sub-communities" each working on a particular field within science. Objectivity is expected to be achieved by the scientific method...
, other identifiers are in use as well, such as ResearcherID
ResearcherID
ResearcherID is an identifying system for scientific authors. The system was introduced in January 2008 by Thomson Reuters.This unique identifier aims at solving the problem of author identification. In scientific literature it is common to cite name, surname, and initials of the authors of an...
or ScopusId. The DAI however is the only independent, non-commercial, number for Dutch researchers.
SURFfoundation has, in cooperation with OCLC PICA, created a connection with PICA National Thesaurus Authornames (NTA) that is supplied and maintained by university libraries. Important to this is the connection between the research information system Metis and the repositories.
Applications
There are many potential applications for the DAI. Publications by an author can be collected more easily, even though the author may have worked at several institutions. When an author changes name, for example because of marriage, the DAI remains the same, enabling anyone to find publications from before the change of name. With a tool, publication lists can be generated on the basis of the DAI. These publications are collected from several repositories in Dutch scientific institutions. With the DAI, this information can be integrated into one list.In July 2009, an article was published in the Dutch newspaper NRC titled “No names, numbers!”. This article was a reaction to a publication in The Lancet
The Lancet
The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is one of the world's best known, oldest, and most respected general medical journals...
in June about the Thompson ResearcherID. In this article, two Dutch researchers advocated an independent author ID, although they were unaware of the existence of the DAI.